【明報專訊】VENICE is known as the city of canals or the floating city, but that doesn't mean the people really live in the water. Now that's happening. The city has witnessed the most serious flooding in half a century. Though not devastating, it has irritated residents. They think there was a lack of support from the authorities. Having said that, flooding is no stranger to Venice as the tides hit the city every year in November and December.

McDonald's goes green ?

MCDONALD's, a world-renowned fast food giant, has announced a series of measures to reduce its use of plastics. It plans to remove the plastic lid on top of the McFlurry (麥旋風) container across Europe. The company estimates that more than 1,200 tonnes of plastic could be saved every year because of the removal. Also, under RECUP, a pilot programme in Germany, disposable coffee containers are replaced by reusable ones.

The hotpot was the hot spot

THE 2nd China International Import Expo ended early this month. What became a hot spot was a giant Chongqing hot pot measuring 10 metres in diameter and weighing about 13 tonnes, attracting many spectators and merchants. Not only could it cater for 56 diners at the same time, it could also allow them to customise the spicy soup base. (photo.3)

■Gear up

According to the passages on p 1 and p 2, answer the following questions.

(1) There is a clear plan on how the 170 playgrounds will be upgraded.

( True / False / Not given )

(2) Venice has experienced the most serious flooding in a century.

( True / False / Not given )

(3) The RECUP programme is very popular. ( True / False / Not given )

(Answers on next text)

■Glossary

devastating (adj) �珝孺坁�

pilot (adj) 試驗的

hot spot (n) 受歡迎地點

soup base (n) 湯底

[Smarties' Power English 第262期]